NGP Becomes PlayStation Vita At E3 2011

The next generation portable device that we have been calling NGP for the last few months has a new name. Yesterday, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kazuo Hirai took to the stage at the E3 press conference in Los Angeles to confirm that the final name is PlayStation Vita and that it will retail at €249 and €299 for the Wi-fi and 3G & Wi-fi models respectively.

That wasn’t the only highlight of a press conference packed with new games, crowd-pleasing live demos and surprise announcements.

This time last year, Naughty Dog wowed us with that Uncharted 2: Among Thieves set-piece with Drake fighting an armed helicopter, and this year they brought a new level from Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception that pits our untucked hero against a squad of enemies on a sinking ship. They also brought this stunning trailer that the audience was lucky enough to see in 3D and on a screen bigger than any bus I’ve seen.

Marcus Smith of Insomniac Games was also on-stage to play through a never before seen section of Resistance 3 taking place in St. Louis that sees Capelli join forces with the Remnant, a group of rebels, to take out a dropship.

We love to see new games announced at E3 and there was an especially excited whoop when Sly Raccoon slinked onto the screen in the teaser trailer for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time on PS3.

Dust 514 is another brand new title; a PS3 exclusive from CCP that syncs up with the hit MMO EVE online. Dust 514 is compatible with PlayStation Move, will have its own dedicated PlayStation Home space and will also have some kind of link-up with PS Vita.

PlayStation Move fans can also look forward to Medieval Moves, an action adventure from the creators of Sports Champions that features intuitive motion control in a fantasy world filled with enemies and contextual puzzles. Sticking with fantasy settings, Ruin was debuted, an action MMO on PS Vita and PS3 that allows the player to save their game on one system and pick up exactly where they left off on the other – a brilliant example of how your PS3 and PS Vita will work together.

Of course, PlayStation Vita was what many came to see and they were spoilt with an extensive line-up of games – it was revealed that more than 80 games are currently in development for the handheld.

One of the biggest surprises was the arrival of Yoshinori Ono to present a playable version of Street Fighter X Tekken on PS Vita, which includes an unexpected guest character: Cole McGrath from the inFamous series.

The press conference is just one part of E3 and we are going to be spending the rest of the week on the show floor filming a live video broadcast featuring interviews, banter and game demos; check it out here on the PlayStation.Blog over the next three days.

Hope you enjoyed this year’s announcements – there were many more than I’ve listed here. We always enjoy reading your feedback so tell us what you think in the comments and I’ll jump in tomorrow morning.

Hey James, sunning it at E3 ). I see the Xperia Play retails here in NZ at NZ$499.00 from VodafoneNZ(That exactly converts to £250.00). Now I really do not want to be spending the same amount of money twice. I’d rather go Vita as I am a gameur at at heart and that Vita is sooo sexy…Meanwhile the Xperia looks loike a street mimeur in comparison. But I really need a phone as well. My question is: Does the more costlier 3G enabled Vita (sounds like blackcurrant mixer… Anyone for an ice cold glass of RiVita? It comes with Vitamine C as well…) come with mobile phone capabilities please James? Vita would be 120% score if it does as well as games and virtual basketweaving applications. Oh, we love the warping and the woofing of those virtual basketweaves. It’s digitally demanding, takes skill and its fun to sit on the bus and try building a cane dog kennel between each bus stop…

No, Vita doesn’t work as a mobile phone – it’s a pure gaming device. It’s a tough call that I can’t make for you, but personally I’ll never dread another long-haul flight once I have Uncharted: Golden Abyss…

I haven’t seen anything definite but I do remember hearing something after the original launch saying that the 3G features could be more about connecting to the game rather than real-time multiplayer, so you might get a notification that someone has attacked your base or challenged you… we’ll have to wait to see exactly what developers have managed.

No, it doesn’t have HDMI output and the storage cards will hold your downloaded games and you can also buy them in shops with games already installed – they will likely be the AAA titles like Uncharted that take a bit longer to download. Every game will be available to download too though.

So, the most interesting thing Sony had at the E3 press conference was the naming of the new handheld? I still wonder what happened to Final Fantasy vs XIII and The Last Guardian. Also, how could you let yourself losing the opportunity to publish Demon’s Souls and its sequel? Dark Souls had to be a PS3 exclusive. Yet another shooter and a Tomb Raider wannabe (although great) with Lara Croft that just reborn. I think SCE should go back on track supporting the new creative ideas as it used to.

I really wanted to buy an NGP,I actually already set aside the money for one to pre-order, but not so sure I want a “Vita” now. I don’t want a “Bloggie” or a “Webbie” either. Has Sony hired on a team of teenage girls to start naming new products??? I think now I’m more curious to see what Nintendo comes up with before I make up my mind. 🙁

Wow… that’s a bit pessimistic. A new Sly game on PS3, Dust 514 exclusive, Medieval Moves, Move support for Bioshock Infinite… PS3 was well accounted for. And did you really expect to see PS2 announcements?

Good but nothing really epic…. Yes the Vita looks cool, but not sure I want to re buy everything for it and have a portable PS3 on my hands. Drakes looks awesome but i was kind of hoping for some new PSN news and features tbh, not sure what but just something.
Liked the look of the Resistance 3 bundle with move, eye cam and sharp shooter though!
The 3d tv bundle is a nice idea but my PS3 is hooked up to my main tv so not really something i’d benefit from as its too small a screen but will be good for some i suppose.

The press conference is just one part of E3 and we are going to be spending the rest of the week on the show floor filming a live video broadcast featuring interviews, banter and game demos; check it out here on the PlayStation.Blog over the next three days.

@ SirTodge post #9. Thanks for that, but I have to admit thats the first time I have heard that it definitly doesnt have tv out. It would seem a shame to remove that feature since the PSP has it, but I guess they dont want it to be in direct competition with the PS3.

This may be a bit off-topic, but can someone confirm for me that there is no VOD in the US? I have a US account, but live in Spain. We have VOD here on the Spanish account. I always assumed VOD didn’t show up in my PS Store because I was overseas, though I have managed a way to get Netflix here. Just curious.

well i’m excited about the PS vita (though who choose the name? have sony employed someone from M$?!).
it’ll be a day 1 purchase hopefully for me! i’m on holiday in orlando the last 2 weeks of november so hope it’ll be out after i come back! (bought all PSPs on launch day though had to get the PSPgo for launch from orlando as i was there getting married!)

i hope there is a TVout. hardly used it with the PSP S&L but with the PSPgo i use it most of the time whilst i’m home! mainly because you can use a PS3 controller to play the games & therefore turning it into a home console

@ TehPhilosopher
1) yes, the NGP will play all of your PSP digitally downloaded content as well as Mini, PS1 Classics and content from the PS Suite.
2) We’ve heard from a few people that they are aiming for 4-6 hours. Obviously that will depend on what you are using it for. The bonus is that the OLED screen is more efficient than LCD & there is no disk drive taking power

Now we had E3 with it‘s recycle of awsomeNot & the day before BG&E-HD is out on store tomorrow it sad to tell you dont hold your breath for BG&E-2 on ps3 or 360 it been pulled it now to be a Next gen game like 720 & ps4.

Oh, one thing for Sony and developers: please make the games faster to access. I get over a minute of logos, warnings and zooms and swooshes before I can play a game on PSP Go. When I’m traveling I’d like to pick up a game quickly and start playing, not waiting for fluff.

looks like great tech with an absolutely daft name. it sounds more like a health drink or lifestyle program than a gaming device.

$249/$299 should be about £199/£239 but actual price might depend on what bundles (accessories + games) are at launch. i’m betting they hope to launch the basic model at a lower cost than the 3DS launch.

To the uneducated moaners: Vita means LIFE. It’s no worse a name than, say, “Bravia” and in fact I think it fits in quite nicely with that line of thinking. It’s a grown-up name for grown-up gamers, not little kiddies that still play with their Wiis, and will have the tech to back up this line of thinking, i.e. it is an expensive bit of hi-technology kit. It can’t be called NGP because NGP means “Next Gen Portable”, and as soon as it hits the streets it will not be “next gen” any more, it will be “current gen” so the name would be daft. Would you rather it be called “CGP”? No? Just call it PSV if you can’t pronounce, or don’t understand, “Vita”.

And of course it’s not a mobile phone, that’s a ridiculous question. Does anyone even HAVE a brain any more?

It’s probably hard for them to determine a price for the UK, because VAT has to be added. If Sony wanted to sell this in the UK for £200, an extra £40 would be added onto the price by the Taxman making it £240.

I may just import one from the US, because their $250(£150) and $300(£180) prices are a bargain compared to what Europe will be paying (€250 is £220 and $360). Sadly, it seems they like to just replace the dollar sign with Euro or Pounds and hope we’re stupid enough to think everyone is paying the same.

The UK and Euro price tag for the PS Vita? Standard = £233/€246. 3G version = £299/€268.
The US price tag? $233 + $299.
So how much should the PSV be costing Europeans? £141/€158 or £182/€204.

This roughly equates the Europe will be charged an extra £100/€70 than our American brothers. Sony will have you believe it is due to the current state of the economy. But those of us who’ve been with Sony in their PS3 era, for longer than 12 months, know it’s because they have nothing but contempt for Europe. Too many countries, too many languages, too many localisations, too expensive, equals…not enough profit.

Add the fact that Sony WILL abandon ALL early adopters of the PSV, especially in Europe, so what’s the point? Over priced console, over priced games, by an unsupportive publisher. Sony don’t care about people who own their products…only those who don’t. The second you buy the PSV, is the second Sony stops caring.

Holy crapcakes i thought the ps3 3.65 update was optional i set my autodown to on & change im time went out for a bit switch it back on it download KZ3 patch & BO 1.09 patch & the 3.65 anyway it was optional in the end.

but i just went & installed it, it was quicker this time and saw for the 1st time after you accept the 3.65 a different screen that i didn’t see before the 1 with the green bar fills in quick.

i look on the scea blog it didn’t added features but it did change your minis save data utility new icon & says minis/psp 😐